05

It’s February! Yay! The start of the new year! Like most of you, I make new year’s resolutions that tend to be more on the fitness and health side of things. I like the idea that we have power over how we look and feel if we’re willing to take it. Of course like most things, it’s much easier said than done, right? Life gets in the way. Work, school, sleep, stress, friends, Vampire Diaries, meh…all of it designed to make you feel like you don’t have time in your day to take care of your personal fitness and health goals. No matter how hard you brain wants it, sometimes it feels impossible to get your body motivated as well. It’s even more difficult if you don’t have a specific goal, or a buddy to keep you accountable.

I follow many Instagram accounts that are fitness or health related in nature, and one of the things that continue to show up on my feed are 30-day fitness challenges. They’re usually simple exercises targeted towards one muscle group that you do on a daily basis at home or at the gym. Each day, you level up to more repetitions so it gets increasingly more challenging as you progress. It’s not meant to be a total body workout, but what I like about the idea of it, is that even if you have no motivation to workout, it gets your mind and body in a routine of being active each day. I know from personal experience, that sometimes motivation to workout comes only after you’ve forced yourself to do it for a couple of weeks. Once you get into a routine, all of a sudden it doesn’t seem so hard to get out of bed and go to the gym, you even eventually WANT to workout and end up loving it.

The first 30-Day Challenge that I decided on are squats. Why you ask? Well, at least for me, my booty is one of the hardest things to get in shape. It’s a flat little thing, and I don’t dedicate nearly enough time on it fitness wise. I’m constantly salivating over perfect perky butts that I see online. This is the year of the delicious booty…I have named it and therefore it is. Take that Chinese Zodiac! Who else wants to sculpt their glutes into a thing of beauty?? If you’re with me, then keep reading and I’ll give you all the information you need to start the challenge with me!

I’ve never done one of these challenges before, but just like most of you, from time to time, I need a little boost getting up into the fitness saddle again. I reached out on Facebook and asked if anyone would be interested in participating in a challenge with me and whoa did I get a lot of positive responses! I’m so excited about everybody’s enthusiasm to try this out with me! It should be a fun way to stay accountable and on goal:)

First things first, you are all going to need to know what the goal is everyday and you can follow along with this handy little chart:

I found that this website: www.30dayfitnesschallenges.com was an amazing place to find a ton of articles on fitness, healthy recipes, and most importantly videos on how to do the exercises in their challenges. Guys, this is so so so important. Proper form when doing any type of exercise is crucial in getting the best workout while not getting hurt. If you aren’t really sure what the proper form for a squat is PLEASE check out the video below or go to their page for more information before starting the challenge. .

Some of you are probably wondering after looking at the chart, “how is it possible to do that many squats at once?” Truthfully, you don’t have to do them all at once if you can’t, or don’t have time to complete the daily goal in one session. What’s really helpful is breaking them up into sets so it doesn’t seem so overwhelming. For instance, on the first day, I may decide to do two sets of 25 instead of just doing a set 50. Or maybe you only have time to do a set of 25 before work in the morning, just make sure you fit in your other set of 25 in sometime before you go to bed. Remember, the key to this isn’t doing them all at once if you can’t, it’s just making sure you DO THEM and meet your daily goal in whatever way works for you. Don’t give up!

If you are already the squat king or queen, or find two days in that this challenge isn’t hard enough for you, you are more than welcome to make it more challenging. A great way to do this, is by adding weight. You can use a dumbbell, kettle bell, or medicine ball to give you a deeper burn. You may also want to try making sure that each squat you do is deliberate and deep…really squeeze those glutes to get the best workout possible!

A couple of you have voiced concerns about being “behind” and not as in shape as the more fit people wanting to do this. Look, as with everything, you just have to go at your own pace. Nobody is judging you and it’s not a race. You know your limitations of what you can or can’t do so stick with that! However, if you’re worried that you aren’t going to see results at the end of the 30 days because you are over weight or not in shape, remember you can always pair this challenge with other things in order to really see results. Try doing this challenge and walking/jogging on a treadmill for twenty minutes a day, or try cutting out sugar for the next 30 days. I’m personally going to try to do this challenge at the gym everyday so it will hopefully motivate me to do more while I’m there…like the stair climber or lunges. Your results are up to you, so make sure it counts!

Here’s a couple of other helpful tips:

-Drink water. You’re supposed to drink close to your weight in ounces everyday. I personally hate water, so if I drink around 80 oz. a day I call that a win. It’s so important for flushing out toxins, getting rid of bloat, giving you energy and rehydrating your muscles

-Eat protein. Here’s the thing, protein is super important if you want to build muscle. It’s basically what you need to feed your booty if you want it to plump up and be delicious. You should strive for 20 grams of protein at every meal. Including snacks. Here are some awesome foods that are high in protein:

-turkey

-chicken

-eggs

-cottage cheese

-greek yogurt

-cheese

-almonds

-tuna

-protein bars/shakes

-quinoa

-Set an alarm on your phone that reminds you when it’s time for squat o’clock. I do this with my meals and it forces me to be conscience of when I should be eating during the day. It’s so easy to get caught up, and it’s nice to have a reminder that tells you to stop what you’re doing and work on your goals. Something else that may help you keep track of your daily goals is the 30-Day Fitness App for iPhone and Android!

-Take a start and end picture. I know, it seems silly to take a picture of your butt, but seriously there’s nothing better to motivate you than seeing the actual progress of your hard work. You don’t have to post it publicly if you don’t want, but I would love to see your guy’s progress at the end of the Challenge!

That’s it! I can’t wait to take this journey with you guys! I’m so excited to see how we all end up at the end of the 30 days! Imma leave you with a picture of a delicious booty…because let’s strive for awesome!

19

Sorry guys for not posting last week!! I’ve had so much stuff going on that it’s been pretty tough to keep up. Like I’ve said before, sometimes life gets in the way! I had premiere’s for HOLLISTON and HATCHET 3, which are both projects that I’m in, then last week was E3. In case you aren’t familiar, E3 is a huge electronics and gaming convention. It was really great to get to see and demo all the new games that are coming out. Hopefully, I actually have time to play a couple of them in the future:) With the Team Unicorn Adult Swim show going to pilot, I have a feeling my spare time is going to be cut down quite a bit. I’m a gamer, who doesn’t have time to game…go figure, lol. However, it will be good to be back to being busy with the show, I constantly need to have an creative outlet or I start to feel crazy!

Clare and I ran into Alicia Marie and Adrianne Curry at E3…I feel so little compared to those beautiful amazons! Plus, I think this is probably the most gorgeous picture of Adrianne I’ve ever seen;)

Pic from Hatchet 3 premiere.

So over the past two weeks, I have to be honest, I haven’t really been able to stay on track as far as working out consistently is concerned. Last week, I only had time to work out three times opposed to my goal of six. It sucks, but I just have to accept the fact that sometimes there are other things that are going to take priority over working out. Still, I’m really happy that I managed to make it as much as I did considering how busy I was. Admittedly, a lot of me being “busy” was me hanging out with friends. Baseball games, birthday parties, premieres, camping, etc. If you know me personally, and you’re reading this, you know that I don’t usually make having fun a priority. I’m the type of person to reply NO to most Facebook invites, usually make it a rule to “Irish exit” from a party forty minutes in, and would rather spend my Friday nights watching old sci-fi shows or cartoons on Netflix while cuddling with my kitties and pup than going to the club with my girlfriends. Basically, I’m a boring cat lady…glamorous, I know. Sorry, If I shattered the illusion of an exciting Hollywood life for you guys! I’m starting to think that maybe the fitness regimen I’m on has something to do with it…that and of course the company of amazing friends;) I just have so much more energy than I usually do that going out doesn’t feel like such a chore like it used to. Same with my sleep schedule. Usually, I have to have eight hours of sleep to feel functional the next day. I’ve always been so jealous of those people that are totally fine with six hours of sleep, because for me six hours of sleep (or less) will basically ruin my day. It actually physically makes me sick. Imagine morning sickness without an alien baby growing in your stomach…not fun!…not that having an alien baby baking in your oven would be fun either, but you get my meaning. Strangely, I’m finding that recently my body doesn’t want eight hours of sleep anymore, it wants less, but I wake up feeling amazing…SO WEIRD! Of course, my first instinct was to fight it. “Noooo body, you NEED eight hours of sleep! Why aren’t you sleeping?!? Why you so kray???” However, now I’m finally starting to accept the fact that I just don’t need as much sleep anymore. SO AWESOME! What a great side effect of getting into shape:)

This weeks meal prep! Throwing everything on the grill is a really great way to cook super fast!

Over the past couple weeks, I ran into a few of you who have been reading this blog. Really blessed to have your support, guys! I started out writing this to keep myself on track with my goals and to share the process, but I’m super excited that some of you have been inspired to start your own fitness routines! Yay you! Love hearing your guy’s stories and what you have been doing in order to get in shape. It’s hard but keep at it, the results are totally worth it!

Hugs everyone! I’ll leave you with a sampling of my gym playlist that helps to keep me motivated!

ACDC: (Shoot to Thrill, Thunderstruck) If you don’t have at least one ACDC song in your mix, you’re doing it wrong my friend.Britney Spears: (Gimme More, Till the World Ends) Ke$ha: (Blow) Have any of you seen this video? Unicorns and James Van Der Beek…how can you go wrong??Foo Fighters: (Walk) This song is super motivational, and I have no idea why, haha! Always feel like I can push harder when this song comes on.will.i.am: (Scream & Shout) LOVE.AFI: (Miss Murder)Baptized by Fire: (Juggernaut) This is a friend of mine’s band and one of his original songs!Buckcherry:(Lit Up)The Cult:(Fire Woman)Disturbed: (Inside the Fire)Europe:(The Final Countdown) I mean, how can you not?Fall Out Boy:(I Don’t Care)Goldfrapp:(Ooh La La) This song is so sexy and has such a great beat. I just want to roll around on the floor and do dirty things when this comes on;)Guns N’ Roses:(Sweet Child of Mine, Paradise City) I have an affinity for 80s hair rock so of course I’d have some GnR in my mix:)Imagine Dragons:(Radioactive) Some days I have to pretend that I’m getting in shape to fight zombies…this song helps with that.Marilyn Manson:(Personal Jesus, Desposable Teens) I LOVE working out to Manson…Maybe I have a dark side, lol! Must be my Scorpio rising sign…Muse:(Supermassive Blackhole)The Prodigy:(Firestarter)Scorpions:(Rock You Like A Hurricane) Classic.Rob Zombie:(Living Dead Girl)Shiny Toy Guns:(Le Disko)Velvet Revolver:(Slither) Scott Weiland and Slash? Yes.Survivor:(Eye of the Tiger) Good enough for Rocky…The Cure:(Just like Heaven)AWOLNATION:(Sail)Daft Punk: (Get Lucky)Bon Jovi:(Living on a Prayer)Def Leppard:(Let’s Get Rocked, Pour Some Sugar on Me)The Outfield:(Our Love)

05

Yayyyy! It’s week five, we’re almost there!!! I’ve been so much better this week compared to the last two. Taking a step back and re-evaluating my goals really helped a lot. The important thing is not to give up when you get off track. Just gotta pick yourself up and start again! Found out that my shooting schedule for this project got pushed back another couple of weeks so it looks like I have even more time to get in shape! That also means you guys get a couple more weeks of fitness blogs too!!! Whoot! I’m really happy with the results so far, and am excited to see what another couple of weeks can do:)

So, last week I told you guys that my metabolism has been on fire. It’s amazing what a couple of constant weeks at the gym can do after spending a few years being a workaholic and not making fitness/nutrition a priority. Even though, my main goal hasn’t been to lose weight, I’m definitely seeing a change in that department. A couple of you have asked what my starting weight was, and I haven’t said because I felt like it was irrelevant since that wasn’t my goal. However, for some of you out there it is a priority and the information will probably benefit you. Five weeks ago I started out at 118 pounds…(ps: I know, that’s not fat AT ALL, but I was definitely soft) I weighed myself on Sunday and I’m down to 111 pounds. So I lost a good 7 pounds in five weeks. Doesn’t seem like a lot, but on me it’s pretty noticeable. I’m kinda hoping that it’s going to slow down since I feel like I’m wasting away to nothing! Haha! No more boobs:( However, those inner and outer thighs are seeing a huge improvement. (Thank you fitness Gods!) I cut out the cardio last week to see if that would help slow down my metabolism, but it’s still gobbling up all my fat stores so I think I’m going to have to alter my diet as well so it evens out a little bit…yay, cheat days!! It’s important to adjust your fitness routine if you notice that you aren’t getting the results you want, or if you are getting something different than what you are trying to achieve. That’s why there are so many different exercise programs out there. Everyone’s body is different and won’t respond the same way. For instance, INSANITY/P90X doesn’t work for me because my body goes into shock from the high intensity and all it wants to do is eat it’s weight in pizza after working out and it’s impossible for me to eat clean. That can totally sabotage your fitness goals.

It’s really amazing the mass to mass ratio of what five pounds of body fat looks like compared to five pounds of muscle! Gross!

Didn’t really change much up this past week. I’m still alternating three leg/butt days with three arm/shoulder days. Fitting two days of abs on top of my other days as well. Started to notice that my ab workouts didn’t feel like it was doing anything, so I decided to do all my ab exercises as a power set. Basically, instead of taking a break in between exercises I just power through them all without stopping. Definitely changed things! Each set of ab exercises last about six and a half minutes so imagine constant crunching for that long before a break. Times that by three! Sometimes, you just need to up the intensity! I think my abs and my arms are the most improved for sure. The booty is going to take more time. Your glutes are the biggest muscle group in your body so the amount of energy and time it takes to sculpt that area is longer than other parts. Even still, I’m pretty confident that I can pass the pencil test now! I will not stop until I have an ass comparable to Alicia Marie’s;) I mean…her booty is insane!

I’ve been holding back from posting booty pics on this blog, because taking booty selfies is just ridiculous, but it’s the only body part I haven’t shown so…here you go! Definitely got more lift than five weeks ago:)

I know I said that I was cutting out cardio…this is from the week before. The stair machines at my gym are awesome since you can compete with your fellow gym-goers for best climb of the week!!! Suuure, go ahead make it a game. Gauntlet thrown. Challenge accepted. I. WIN.

Motivational words from my gym. Get it…because you get hot working out???? Bueller? See you guys next week! Hopefully, on time! Hugs!

28

Sorry for not having a blog post last week! So crazy, I can’t even begin to explain. I kinda decided to make that the subject of this weeks post…Realistic and unrealistic expectations. The last couple of weeks have been a roller coaster of “life” stuff. You know, all that clutter that gets in the way of taking care of your self? School, work, kids? Yup, that’s what I’m talking about. It’s been so difficult to try to maintain goals when having to improvise. In a perfect world, we would all have a set little schedule where we got up at the same time each day, knew exactly what we were going to eat for breakfast, took time out for ourselves, always felt amazing and always accomplished everything on our ‘to do’ lists. But that doesn’t alway happen. Nor should it, since the unpredictable is what makes life so interesting and full of surprises. So how do we maintain goals in an unpredictable world? The answer simply is being realistic with ones self. Sometimes our motivation and the will that drives us, can also make us become unrealistic about our expectations. Hold the phone! I’m not saying that we shouldn’t reach for the sky and strive to be the very best that we can be, but I’m saying that we shouldn’t be so narrow minded in our goals that the littlest stone in our path makes us completely derail. I’m sure like me, you can all relate to this…unless you’re a Cylon or a Cyber Man and completely robot like in everything that you do.

I know in a previous post I had talked a little bit about consistency. How in order to get the results you want you need to be consistent on a weekly basis. While I still stick to that philosophy, I’m learning that even the best made plans, the greatest intentions, and all the drive in the world sometimes is no match for everyday wonderful life. For myself, I’ve set a pretty high bar. A lot of that is due in part to a time clock…I’ve only got so much time before shooting this project. Six weeks, that’s it. Six weeks to dramatically physically change. Sounds a little unrealistic right???? Yeah, because it is. It hit me a week ago that even if I stayed as strict as possible with training and dieting there was no way my body would have enough time to change as much as I projected it would. It’s just impossible. It takes months not weeks to do what I want to do. On top of that, these last two weeks have been a barrage of ups and downs with work, extracurricular, and personal stuff that has affected my training schedule and my dieting, which in turn has made everything a little less consistent. Rileah = Sad Panda:( What happens when we set unrealistic goals and don’t end up achieving them?? We start to judge ourselves. It takes the wind out of our sails and makes us start to question our process and the need to continue with it. Remember that tiny little evil gnome that I talked about previously??? He LOVES it when this happens because we start to listen to him. It’s easier for him to convince us that we don’t have to keep killing ourselves…I mean, what’s it for if you aren’t going to get the results you want. You couldn’t go to the gym the last two days so maybe you should just take the week off. You dieted all week but you gained three pounds so maybe you should just eat whatever you want since it doesn’t really matter..these are the things that start to go through our minds when we are too unrealistic with ourselves. However, we can change these thoughts by taking a breath, and really taking measure of what we’ve already accomplished and re-evaluating our goals and making them fit more realistically into our lives. It may take more time than first thought, but It’s better than completely derailing.

Even with being disappointed at myself for not staying on target these past two weeks, I’m still seeing a lot of progress! Definitely seeing much more definition in my arms and abs, and I feel like my legs are so much more toned. I think I may have to cut out most of my cardio though since my metabolism has been on fire lately. I genetically have always had great metabolism, which has keep me relatively slim most of my life, but now I’m burning fat but it’s in the weirdest places. First of all, my boobs are basically gone. Totes gonna talk about my boobs now! Sadly, I already didn’t have much there to begin with, but now I’m basically a pancake haha! I’m starting to understand why fitness models and female body builders almost all have fake boobs, that’s the first place your body wants to burn fat. SO, unfair! Sob! I mean, I’ve got some thighs that could use a little more trimming, why the boobs?! I need those! Ladies, I’m sure you can relate. Also, the bones in my chest plate and sternum are starting to become more pronounced which just isn’t sexy, I feel like I’m starting to look like a weird alien creature…So no more cardio for a while, just weight training. Hopefully that helps, or I’m going to have to start shopping for training bras! I also started a different rotation in my six day schedule at the gym. Instead of doing two days of each muscle group I’m alternating Arm/Shoulders and Leg/Butt day to every other day. That way I get three days a week for both of those groups and throw in two days of abs on top a week. Hoping to see a bigger change at the end by trying to push a little harder these last couple of weeks.

I’ll leave you guys with a couple “before” and “after” pictures so you can kinda see where I’m at! Have a great week everybody and good luck with your goals! Oh yeah, and BOOBS!!!!!!

14

Hey everyone! Welcome back to week two of my fitness blog. About four weeks left to go until filming so time to focus even more! This week was kinda tough guys. Unlike the week before, this week I was pretty busy so it was difficult to reach my goals because I’m so used to an “out the door” lifestyle. You know, the one where you wake up throw some clothes on and are in the car before you remember to brush your teeth? Where you will cancel your gym time because something “more important” comes up. Yup, that’s the one I’m talking about. I don’t have a set schedule like a nine to five job so for me I’m re-learning how make my fitness needs part of a daily routine opposed to the “where ever the wind may take me” kind of approach. It’s hard!!! The biggest challenge has been eating when I’m supposed to eat. I have the alerts set on my phone to go off at two to three hour intervals to let me know when I’m supposed to be eating but telling my brain to stop everything that it’s doing to go find food is something else entirely. There’s that evil little gnome that lives in my brain that continually tells me that I can skip a meal. It’s the same one as a matter of fact, that tells me that I can skip sets at the gym of go less time on the elliptical. That little shit is an asshole! Isn’t it funny that most of the time our first thought process is always how to justify getting out of doing something that is good for us? WHAT IS THAT??? Luckily, for me my motivation to get in shape is stronger than the ugly evil gnome living in my brain so I’m slowly learning how to ignore his incessant whining:)

Food prep has helped with that aspect A LOT. When you don’t really have to worry about making your meals everyday, its a blessing. I don’t think I could do this without food prep. Now, I just have to train myself to eat the food I’ve prepped when I need to eat it, and I’ll be good! God, I would make a lousy Hobbit! Haha! The reason it’s so important, is that if you are focused on putting on lean muscle mass you need feed your muscles. Just like a garden. If you don’t give your soil the nutrients that it needs, your garden is going to kinda suck. Yeah, you did all the hard work of planting the seeds but if you don’t maintain that soil and water it and make sure it’s fertilized you aren’t going to get the results you want to achieve. That’s why you also can’t starve yourself and expect to get fit. Eventually your body is not only going to eat the fat, but it’s going to eat the muscle as well. Protein is key is growing those muscles so make sure that all your meals have a good ration of protein in them!

This weeks meal plan was pretty much the same as last weeks. However, I did find myself at times substituting a couple of those meals for a protein bar if I was out and hadn’t planned to have any food with me. Note to self: Bring food with you everywhere! You never know where you’ll end up during the course of your day and you don’t want to be stuck somewhere with no food so plan ahead.

The times in bold above are when my alerts on my phone go off. Been trying to get up early so I can eat with this schedule but sometimes I’m missing my times in the morning. If this happens, just start as soon as you wake up! If you wake up at 9am instead of 7am eat your earliest set meal and so on!

Also, want to point out eating right before your workout and right after is super important as well. In order for your body to do work, it needs fuel. I suggest scheduling one of your meals right before gym time. If you can’t do that, then carry protein bars with you…just make sure they don’t have a ton of sugar in them. I really like the Think Thin bars. They have zero sugar and have twenty grams of protein. Perfect for keeping your energy up at the gym! Afterwards, I’d recommend finding a really great protein shake. I use the Pre/post Workout Performance dotFit protein powder. It maximizes your energy and boosts muscle protein synthesis. This shake also acts as a meal replacement if you don’t have time to make a meal.

Pre/Post Workout Fuel

The big thing about working out is consistency. Doesn’t matter if your goals are to work out three days a week or six days a week. In order to see results you have to stay consistent. You can’t just go a six day week for a couple of weeks and then decide that your only going to go two days the next and three days after that. Your body isn’t going to give you what you want if you don’t stay strict with it, so come up with a plan and then stick with it! Also, know that your body is going to want to plateau every couple of weeks as it gets bored with the same old routine, just like us! Make sure to change it up regularly. Even changing up the order of your exercises helps to keep the body guessing.

Monday:

Cardio: (40 min) Fancy elliptical. Back at it again this week! Can’t wait to really start seeing results:)

Weight Training: (Arms) Didn’t change much this week, but did find myself playing around with number of sets and some weight. Anything different is highlighted below.

-Alternating hammer curls: 10 lb. 4 sets of 15 reps

-Front and side raises: 5 lb. 3 sets of 15 reps

-Rotating shoulder press: 10 lb. 3 sets of 15 reps

-Barbell rows: 30 lb. 4 sets of 15 reps

-Alternating bicep curl 10 lb. 3 sets of 15 reps

-Dips: 4 sets of 15 reps

-Tricep extension: 10 lb. 4 sets of 10 reps

Tuesday:

Cardio: Sadly I didn’t get a chance to fit in any cardio today:( I know, totally breaking my rule about staying consistent, but unfortunately I was in-between meetings all day so I had to sacrifice that or weight training.

Cardio: (30 min)Row Machine. Wanted to change up my cardio a bit in order to focus on my upper body. This is great for sculpting those hard to get to back muscles and I was definitely feeling it the next day.

Weight Training: (Abs) For some reason, even though I’m doing all these ab exercises, I’m not really getting the “muscle burn” feel that I wanted. This week I decided to go through all the sets with minimum rest (if any) in between so I could really fatigue the muscles more.

-Crunches: 4 sets of 20 reps

-Bicycle crunches: 4 sets of 20 reps

-Reverse crunches: 4 sets of 20 reps

-Planks: 3 sets (30 seconds each)

-Russian twists: 3 sets of 20 reps w/12 lb. ball

-Scissor kicks: 4 sets of 20 reps

Since I’d been doing so well, I decided to treat myself to something special. I couldn’t have ice cream so I opted for the next best thing…Victoria’s Secret of course;) Justifying shopping sprees are one of my most favorite pastimes!

Cardio: (40 min) Fancy elliptical. Today was one of those days where that ugly little gnome kept trying to get me to cheat on my time…I didn’t though! Yay for small victories!! Another reason to celebrate was that I found out that my show that I developed for Adult Swim got picked up for pilot…double yay!!!

Ran my workout/diet program by my friend Alicia Marie this evening. She’s an incredible fitness model, celebrity trainer, and author of the “Booty Bible”. Surprisingly, she was pretty impressed with what I came up with on my own and only added a couple of suggestions. We are picking a day next week to team up and work out together so she can teach me some extra exercises!!! Ps: Her ass is incredible…I totally want one!!!!

Saturday:

Cardio: (40 min)Fancy elliptical. So there’s this trainer at my gym who looks just like Clark Kent…I mean, it’s uncanny really. 6’2, piercing blue eyes, jet black hair, muscles. He even has the same adorable little curl of hair on his forehead! Today, on my machine I literally stared at him the entire time day dreaming how cool it would be if right at that moment the world was in danger and he had to fly off and save it. Like, how’s he going to change? Where’s the nearest phone booth?? Do they even have phone booths anymore? Guess he could use the locker room, but then everybody would know his secret…hmmmmm. The inner workings of my mind everybody!! Haha! At least it got me through the boredom of my cardio session. Thought about trying to sneak a picture of him, but I think that would put me somewhere in the “creepy” zone;)

Weight Training: (Abs) Really worked hard on trying to engage my abs as much as possible by keeping them pulled down to the floor with each crunch. Seemed to help a lot!

-Crunches: 4 sets of 20 reps

-Bicycle crunches: 4 sets of 20 reps

-Reverse crunches: 4 sets of 20 reps

-Planks: 3 sets (30 seconds each)

-Russian twists: 3 sets of 20 reps w/12 lb. ball

-Scissor kicks: 4 sets of 20 reps

Sunday: Today is my rest day. It’s super important not to over do it. Your muscles grow when you are resting, not when you are working out. We work out in order to shred the muscles, but the rest in between is what makes your muscles grow…kinda like calluses! If you’re really sore in a certain area you should wait until you aren’t so you can allow the muscle tissue to heal:) I also spend my Sunday’s doing meal prep for the next week!

That’s it guys! No before/after picture this week since I don’t really think I can see a huge difference. They say it takes about three to four weeks to start to see changes in your body so I’ll hopefully have a pic for you next week of my progress. On that note, I’ll leave you my friend Todd Roy’s recipe for turkey/chicken meatballs. See you guys next week!!!

07

About a week ago, I posted on my Facebook page that I had a really awesome project coming up. I can’t say what it is yet, but trust me when I say it’s geektastic! It requires me to lean out and put on a little bit of muscle and i’ve got about six weeks to do it in, eek! Not an impossible task, but definitely one that is pretty intimidating. I asked you guys on facebook if you’d be interested in actually following my progress if I wrote a blog about my fitness regimen for the project and you guys said yes, so here’s my first week’s post! Writing this blog is two fold for me, one is to actually keep me dedicated to the task at hand and the second is to hopefully inspire others out there to reach their fitness goals as well. I will be posting once a week for the duration, It’s going to be hard and not that fun at times, but no pain no gain, right?? Haha! Also, for the record I just want to mention that I am NOT a fitness expert by any stretch of the imagination. My routine that I’ve picked out for myself is based off of internet research and advice from friends that are fitness experts:) With that in mind welcome to week one of my training!!

Did you know that eighty percent of being fit is actually diet and only twenty percent is exercise?? Crazy, right? I started off my week researching HOW to eat in order to get the body I wanted. Now, I’m not talking about starving myself, I’m talking about creating meals that fuel the body and help accommodate lean muscle growth. This for me, like with most people out there is the hardest thing to get in the habit of. Why? Because eating healthy requires a lot of frakking cooking! Then there’s the dishes…the evil mountain of dishes!! Most of us will eat if food is readily available, but if we have to cook it when there’s something more convenient like a drive-thru we will take the easy road and…EPIC FAIL. Knowing that this was my first and most challenging obstacle I started researching meal prep.

Ladies who love those tupperware parties get ready, cause this is for you:) Meal prep is in my opinion, really is the only way to stay on a healthy clean diet. Food prep only requires you to spend a few hours a week prepping meals for you entire week! So much easier than having to worry about what you are supposed to be eating each and every day. Knowing what you need to be eating is also very important. Prepping bags full of potato chips is just not going to get it done my friend. Your meals need to consist of clean foods! Also, I found out there’s actually a correct technique to how we eat our food which is actually pretty important when you want to see results. We all plan our day around breakfast, lunch, and dinner, but what if I told you that our bodies would have a higher metabolism rate if you were to eat SIX small meals a day? I call it the Hobbit technique, does that exist? Because if not, I’m coining it;) Basically, our bodies are always in survival mode, the longer your body goes without food the more it thinks it has to store up all that fat. If you feed it more it will let go of storing the bad things and only keep the nutrients that it needs. Getting used to this new way of eating is also a challenge but one that is really important in helping fuel a good fitness program.

A lot of us “forget” to eat because we are so busy during our day, I know I do! What helps me is setting alerts/alarms on my phone that help me remember when I should be stuffing something into my pie hole:) Use whatever schedule works best for you, but you shouldn’t be going more than three hours without eating.

Another tip: Get rid of salt and sugar!! I’m shedding tears as I write this as I am also a sugar/salt addict. You only need about 500mg of salt a day to survive, on average we take in over 5000mg a day! Think of all that water retention…Yuck! Sugar is basically the most evil villain there is when it comes to a healthy diet. It drives you to crave bad food, pulls the strings of your blood sugar levels and is nasty to your energy levels. You just don’t need it. You get plenty of sugar from fruits and vegetables. The detox sucks, but if you are really serious on changing your fitness outlook you need to “x” the sugar. DO NOT CHANGE OUT SUGAR FOR ARTIFICIAL SWEETENER! Just as bad for you. If you can’t take not eating sugar try honey or stevia…all natural and much better for you in the grand scheme of things.

My alts to salt/sugar. Mrs. Dash comes in a whole bunch of different flavors and is salt free. Stevia is new to me, I love sugar so much it’s hard for me to get on board with a alternative, but if I’m craving something with sugar in it, i’ll either use this or eat some fruit.

DRINK A LOT OF WATER! I hate water. I mean honestly it has no taste and if it’s too cold it’s painful to drink. During the next six weeks I’m going to try to change my view point on this, by telling myself how much I LOVE water. I’m trying to drink at least eighty ounces a day. Water is amazing for cleaning toxins from the body, is AMAZING for the skin, helps to flush that camel bag water bloat…put on by all that salt I might add, and overall helps your body run as efficiently as possible.

With the above in mind this is my week #1 meal plan:

7am – Small bowl of Go Lean Kashi cereal with almond milk. Apple with a teaspoon of almond butter.

9am – Egg whites with baby spinach and ground turkey (pre-cooked). I put a little store bought pico de gallo on top and drown it in Mrs. Dash for taste.

For in-between cravings I have almonds, carrots, protein shake, and cottage cheese.

Now about exercise!!! Just like most of you, I’m not SUPER good about going to the gym. Last year I probably went to the gym less times than most of you get Starbuck’s in a week…this is embarrassingly true. Thanks to my momma and the powers that be, i’ve been genetically blessed with a pretty great set of genes and for the most part have had to do very little to maintain my body type. Guess what? I’ve totally been cheating myself. By not staying active and eating a healthy diet I am taking such a great gift for granted! I’m cheating myself out of being the best version of me possible, because I’m relying on my genes to get me through life. Who does that? ::raises hand:: this asshole. Oh of course, I ALWAYS say that I want to be better, but as many of you can probably relate, being better requires work and who wants to do that?? Well it’s time to cowboy up boys and girls, cause we are going to stop making excuses for ourselves!!! Motivation is definitely key for me. Getting this upcoming part made me really realize that I need to physically inhabit this character…I can’t just look like her, I have to have the physical body of her as well or it’s just not going to work. Ultimately, I’m really hoping that this “experiment” over the next six weeks and the motivation of this role will propel me to keep maintaining a healthy fitness routine into the future.

So nobody is confused, my goals are to put on muscle, and lean out. I’m not trying to lose weight. In fact, if anything I’m probably going to be gaining weight as I put on muscle. At the beginning of last week, I had a trainer at my gym measure my body fat. Anyone have a guess as to what it was??? Bueller…Bueller…? 28%. Almost a third of my body is fat!! That was crazy to hear, and showed just how out of shape I really am! My goal is to cut that ugly number down to 16%…here’s to hoping! In order to do this is six weeks i’m going to have to eat clean, and train mean! That means no cheating and a ton of time at the gym. (tears!!!!) Based on that, I created a workout routine where hopefully I’ll see the results I’m looking for. Six days of cardio to burn that fat off, two days of arms/shoulders/back, two days of legs/booty, and two days of abs. One day of rest.

Monday:

Cardio: (40 min) Fancy eliptical…this is not the technically name for it of course, but you know the one I’m talking about! It’s got a little more up and down action than the older ones. I have bad knees so I usually look for cardio that is lower impact. BTW, out of everything at the gym, cardio for me is the worst thing ever. I hate it! Mostly if it’s on a machine. I usually like to do my cardio in a dance class form. Unfortunately, today I missed my Zumba class because it was ass early and there was just no way I was going to start my morning before 7am…sigh.

Weight Training: (Arms) For me, arms/shoulders/back are my main focus. I hadn’t had a chance to really research the right type of exercises to work the muscle groups that I wanted so I used some of the machines at the gym over any free weights. Ultimately, kinda feel like I half assed it by not knowing exactly what I needed:/ Wish I would have done more.

Tuesday:

Cardio: (40 min) Fancy eliptical.

Weight Training: (Legs/Booty) Pissed at myself for not having a really great game plan in place on Monday, I went home that night and found some amazing butt/leg exercises to try. Most of them come from my friend Alicia Marie who is a former fitness model and trainer. She has a very insightful book out called “The Booty Bible”. It’s chalked full with awesome exercises that everybody should try if they want a firmer rounder backside. I refer to my butt as “really high upper leg” as it has no definition and is as flat as a pancake! Hopefully, these exercises help with that;)

Cardio: (1 hour) Zumba. Zumba is a super fun dance class that combines cardio with latin dance. I love it, it never feels like an hour of work and I come out of there dripping sweat! I highly recommend it to anyone who has it at their gym or anyone who hates cardio on machines like me!

Weight Training: (Abs)

-Crunches: 3 sets of 20 reps

-Bicycle crunches: 3 sets of 20 reps

-Reverse crunches: 3 sets of 20 reps

-Planks: 3 sets (30 seconds each)

-Ab machine: 3 sets of 20 reps

-Russian twists: 3 sets of 20 reps w/6 lb. ball

-Hanging reverse crunches: 3 sets of 15 reps

-Scissor kicks: 3 sets of 20 reps

-Ab slider machine: 3 sets of 20 reps

Thursday:

Cardio: (3o min) Fancy eliptical. Missing my Zumba due to a dinner! Stupid social life! Went less time today because my legs were so tired from their workout on Tuesday.

Weight Training: (Arms) Finally found a pretty good arm routine ( I think;)

-Alternating hammer curls: 10 lbs. 3 sets of 15 reps

-Front and side raises: 5 lbs. 3 sets of 15 reps

-Rotating shoulder press: 10 lbs. 3 sets of 15 reps

-Barbell rows: 20 lbs. 3 sets of 15 reps

-Alternating bicep curl 10 lbs. 3 sets of 15 reps

-Dips: 3 sets of 15 reps

-Tricep extension: 10 lbs. 3 sets of 10 reps

Friday:

Cardio: (1 hour) Zumba. Decided to try doing my cardio AFTER my weight training since there were a couple of people saying that it’s the best way, but I was so exhausted from working on legs prior that this class just took all the energy out of me. I don’t think i’ve ever been so uncoordinated in a class before because of tired muscles. Definitely going to go back to cardio first then weight training…works best for me.

Weight Training: (Legs/booty) I could definitely tell that the week was catching up to me, friday was one of the hardest days to work out.

Saturday was Star Wars Day so I had to show a little pride at the gym;)

AND ON THE SEVENTH DAY SHE RESTED!!!!!!

That’s a wrap on week one! Hoping that my future blogs aren’t so long and just more a diary of how the week went, but I felt it was important that you guys got a little more information is this one:) Let me know if you guys have any questions, or you can also leave me motivational comments too! Lord knows I need them…at this moment all I can think about is a hot fudge sundae….eeeeeek! I’ll leave you with a final “before & after picture” so you can see the progress I’m making…It’s not a ton this week, but I feel so much better and can see those muscles coming in! Til’ next week ciao!

Please forgive the half naked pics, guys it’s really the only way to judge any results. Left is my beginning pic and on the right is after one week! Five more to go!